US soldier detained in Russia, White House confirms

A US soldier was detained in Russia last week, the Army and National Security Council confirmed on Monday.

On May 2, “Russian authorities in Vladivostok, Russia, detained an American soldier on charges of criminal misconduct,” U.S. Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said in a statement to The Hill.

Smith said the Russian Federation notified the State Department of the criminal detention and that the Army subsequently notified the soldier’s family.

The State Department “is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” he added.

And an NSC spokesperson told The Hill that the State Department “is actively seeking consular access to this individual, who was not in Russia on behalf of or affiliated with the U.S. government.”

They referred further questions about the individual’s employment to the Pentagon, which referred The Hill to the Army.

White House national security communications adviser John Kirby also told reporters Monday that the White House is aware of the detained soldier.

NBCreported for the first time that a military man who was stationed in South Korea traveled to Russia on his own and was not on an official mission when he was arrested on May 2 in Vladivostok, a port city near the border with China and North Korea.

The soldier is accused of robbing a woman, four US officials told the channel.

The NSC spokesperson said the US is serious about its commitment to helping US citizens abroad, while reiterating its strong warnings that “US citizens should not travel to Russia at this time – period Final”.

CBS News identified the detained soldier as an Army Staff Sergeant. Gordon D. Black.

Shortly after news of the arrested soldier broke, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he was “deeply concerned” by the reports.

“Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage,” he saidsaid on X. “A warning to all Americans – as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.”

Russia has increasingly detained Americans who have traveled to the country as relations between Moscow and Washington have plummeted following the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin claims those it arrested broke the law, while the US says Russia is targeting US citizens to use them as political leverage.

Included among the detained Americans is Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, who has been in Russian custody for a year. He is awaiting trial in a Moscow prison on espionage charges.

Also accused of espionage is former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in Moscow in 2018 while attending a friend’s wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020, but said the charges against him were fabricated.

This article was updated at 5:05 p.m.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story